Session: Friday Morning, December 6

Time: 9:45

Most of the recently developed malls in Saudi Arabia have provided poor
acoustical environments. Assessment of such environments is dis-cussed in detail
in this paper through a case study; Al-Rashid Mall in Al-Khobar. Physical
characteristics of the mall are described along with the special acoustical
systems that are incorporated within the mall. One of these systems is the
public address system which has many loudspeakers and feedback microphones that
allow the system to automatically adjust the loudness of the sound signal
produced according to the noise level. Unfortunately, this system has failed to
provide the functions for which it was built. Acoustical characteristics such as
background noise levels, reverberation time, and the sound transmission index
(STI) were measured and analyzed in many locations. It was found that the mall
has unexpectedly provided high background noise levels and reverberation time,
as well as very poor speech intelligibility. Causes of such problems along with
possible solutions are conceptually discussed. Finally, general social cultural
factors that affect acoustical environments in malls in Saudi Arabia are briefly
discussed along with a set of recommendations to overcome such factors.